Side Trips

Though Kaleidoscope was never anything more than a cult entity in the mid-'60s, their influence on the development of psychedelic rock and early world music cannot be overestimated. Following up on fellow Angelenos The Byrds' raga-flavored "Eight Miles High," Kaleidoscope's excellent debut album Side Trips, released in 1967, found them diving deep into the blend of global sounds, sonic experimentation and multi-layered harmonies. With their uncanny ability for fusing disparate folk traditions, Kaleidoscope were more or less the American version of the Incredible String Band.